Partly wrapped in a fur coat that leaves very little to the imagination, Maria Manakova smiles suggestively at the camera.Posted by Jerry Lawson at August 8, 2004 09:18 AM | TrackBackThis 30-year-old female grandmaster has caused a minor sensation in the otherwise stuffy world of chess with a series of raunchy photo shoots for glossy magazines. ...
She was ranked No. 20 among the world's female players in the 1990s, but only recently began to exploit her looks. In the spring, she appeared on the cover of Russia's Speed magazine and this month's edition of Pro Sport features "artistic" shots of her in designer underwear.
In a recent interview, she poured scorn on female players in "dirty, baggy trousers," urging them to wear miniskirts instead to attract sponsors. "Enough of begging for money from businessmen and politicians who happen to fall in love with chess to their own misfortune," she argued. "It's time to work for this money, if not with behavior then at least with appearance.